A Prayer for Daily Neglects

Two weeks ago, I shared with our community, in the context of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the annual Stewardship/State of the Union Appeal. Using a combination of humor, and reference to a story spotlighting the wisdom of Dan Baranowski, the director of stewardship education for the Archdiocese of St. Louis, I tried to enable us to realize that “Stewardship” properly understood is a disciple’s response to God. The Psalmist begs the question, “How can I repay the Lord for all his gifts to me?” (Psalm 116:12). From the presentation that I cited from Baranowski, I highlighted how he made reference to Archbishop Robert Carlson of St. Louis, a former auxiliary bishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis, who developed new terms for the traditional “Time, Talent, and Treasure” associated with Stewardship. Instead of “Time”, he proposed “Prayer”, instead of “Talent”, he proposed “Participation” and instead of “Treasure”, he proposed “Generosity”. Baranowski said, “The whole point of stewardship is to strengthen our faith, strengthen our relationship with the Holy Trinity and help each other get to heaven. If you remember nothing else about stewardship, just keep these words in mind—grateful and generous.” With that, Baranowski said: “When somebody is generous to me, I’m grateful; for most people, the byproduct of gratitude is generosity”.

Emphasizing that having a prayer life is essential in stewardship work, he challenges us to reflect upon the following question: “What if you woke up today with only the things you thanked God for yesterday?” Wow! That question really got me thinking about how much I take for granted and neglect for that matter. Therefore, I thought I would share with you the following prayer and its history.

Prayer for Daily Neglects

Eternal Father, I offer You the Sacred Heart of Jesus, with all its love, all its sufferings, and all its merits.

First: To expiate all the sins I have committed this day and during all my life. Glory be to the Father, etc.

Second: To purify the good I have done poorly this day and during all my life. Glory be to the Father, etc.

Third: To supply for the good I ought to have done, and that I have neglected this day and all my life. Glory be to the Father, etc.

History: Soon after the death of a certain Poor Clare nun, she appeared to her abbess, who was praying for her, and said: “I went straight to Heaven because I paid all my debts by virtue of this prayer”